The road to Precinct 84
by Ban3
Summary: Based on the campaign created by Keldorn.  When News Chopper 5 goes down over Brooklyn, New York the survivors have no choice but to find an evac centre, if any exists. How will this journey end?
1. Chapter 1

This is a story chronicling the survivors' passage through Brooklyn, New York in Precinct 84, there is some swearing, special props go to Keldorn for an awesome campaign.

The mid morning sun shone bleakly on the decaying buildings of Brooklyn, New York. Moisture still clung to the roofs of buildings but this wouldn't last long as the sun continued its ascent into the washed out sky. Zoey leaned over the edge and watched a still functional train trundle past with a couple of zombies who had decided to duke it out with each other. "Zombies on a train.." She giggled before turning back to the rest of the group.

Ever the pessimist Francis had decided now was the best time to voice his opinion about helicopters;

"I hate helicopters." he grumbled.

"My first time in a helicopter, pretty exciting."

Louis was trying to put a positive spin on the situation again, ofcourse Francis felt the same no matter what he had said.

"Yeah, I'll give you that." The burly biker muttered before turning to Bill. The aging Vietnam veteran had been inspecting the now wrecked helicopter and turned to face them.

"Okay people this is the situation" He began: "Judging from those buildings over there," He looked in the direction of some very tall buildings which were as of yet not totally on fire. "I believe we are in a suburb of New York City."

"I hate New York."

Unsurprisingly Francis had interrupted Bill again. The aged man looked to the heavens for an answer before shooting a withering look at Francis;

"A few years in the army would have slimmed you down and shut you up Francis, regardless we are stuck on this rooftop.." He gestured in a sweeping motion in front of him.

"We have a propane canister, a few light arms and four first aid kits. We are going to require provisions to survive and we need to find out our current location."

Louis and Francis nodded while Zoey sat swinging her legs on the small table holding said weapons.

"I don't like daylight stints but I'm afraid we have no choice this time round."

After deciding on a suitable plan of action and scouring the rooftop for anything of value, the team was ready. Francis, slinging the propane canister (now attached to a suitable length of rope discovered on the roof) over his shoulder grabbed a shotgun and a pistol from what lay scattered on the table top. Zoey and Bill each decided on uzis and a pistol while Louis took the remaining shotgun and pistol.

"We ready to roll?" Francis turned to guage the assent of the group.

Bill nodded; "Louis you're on point, Zoey, you and I will take the flanks and Francis, you cover the rear. Everyone clear on that?" With no objections there was only one thing left to do. "Okay people, let's get moving."

And so the journey began.

The door opened cautiously.. A beam pierced the gloom and searched the stairwell and landing, it picked out a zombie hanging over some strong wooden boards, a bullet hole in its skull. "Nothing in here." Louis felt very relieved as they slowly made their way down the landing. Something fell over in the next room. With a swift motion of his hand Bill brought the team to a halt, looking at Louis he nodded and mouthed "Go."

The door let out a soft groan as it opened, a modest apartment with an open plan kitchen, with a quick glance to his left revealing an empty room with another open door off to the left, it was time to try the right, the kitchen. Something rustled, a large refrigerator (still operating) blocked his view but Louis made slow and steady progress. The electronic hum started grating on his nerves, cautiously peeping around the side, a large rat squeaked and scurried away. "Jeez." The ex-IT technician let out a relieved sigh.

Mopping his brow the pent up stress left him as he relaxed, a few seconds later a dull pain exploded across his back, whirling he came face to face with a medium sized infected, it must have been behind the door. The pale bloodied man snarled at him and began raising his arms for another blow, however Louis had other plans. With a loud yell he rammed the butt of his shotgun into its head connecting with its forehead and creating an audible crack. The infected crumpled onto the floor.

"Clear!" Louis's call brought everyone into the room as he motioned to the refrigerator and kitchen.

"Guys, you're gonna want to see this."

Zoey called excitedly as she peered into the freezer section, the others walked over to see what all the fuss was about. The refrigerator was a treasure trove of food, there must have been at least two to three kilograms of unspoilt meat meaning the infection had only spread to this city recently.

Bill surveyed the meat, rubbing his bristly beard as he began delegating tasks;

"Right people, listen up, Francis and Louis blockade the two entrances to this room, we don't want any surprises, Zoey, empty the refrigerator, check for anything we can use, I want this refrigerator against that doorway.."

He pointed at the far doorway.

"This is the first good meal we've had in a while so we may be here a little longer than necessary. We'll take turns covering the entrances, is everyone clear on that?"

Heads nodded in anticipation of the meat which would not only boost morale but also give them a large boost of strength.

A few hours later and after scouring the adjoining bedrooms for backpacks of any kind the team set out refreshed and ready, the far doorway had revealed a hole in the wall which led onto the stairwell. Bill had a look at the hole in the wall noting a dangerous blindspot, finally he decided on a course of action;

"Louis, Zoey wait up here, You.." He motioned to Francis.

"And I are going to drop through the hole, once we're through you two follow us."

A loud hacking cough drifted up from somewhere below them.

"Son of a bitch." The veteran muttered, "Right Francis let's move."

The two dropped to the stairwell, turning round a pack of commons had noticed them and came bounding up the stairs eager for an easy snack, unfortunately for them this would not be the case. After dispatching the unfortunate infected Louis and Zoey rejoined the group. Another cough, Zoey looked around apprehensively;

"I know that sound, smoker, don't get hung, okay?"

With a nod the team moved on. After at least ten minutes of listening to the loud hacking coughs and dispatching commons they finally reached a window leading onto a balcony with a ladder allowing access to an alley, the coughing had stopped Francis rubbed his stubbly hair;

"I don't like this one damn bit."

Bill was quick to agree with him;

"yeah, it's gonna be dangerous, eyes and ears people, eyes and ears."

With Zoey covering from the balcony Bill descended first, followed by Louis, Francis motioned to Zoey who accepted gratefully and clambered down.. Which is when all hell broke loose. A howl tore through the air around them as a slimy appendage streaked down to Francis on the balcony.

"Shit! Form up!"

Bill cried just as Francis's cries for help began.

"Damn it! I need some help!"

Scanning the buildings Zoey spotted the tall lanky creature trying to drag her friend through the balcony railing;

"Smoker! Over there, by the third story window!"

Lining up the sights of his pistol, three shots rang out as Bill sent three bullets on a one trip into the loathsome creature. Chest, neck, head, with a loud pop the smoker burst sending a cloud of green smoke wafting out of the window. The ex-IT technician stole a glance at the balcony where the barrel-chested man had been assaulted.

"Francis you okay?"

The horde had already begun clambering over the barracades as Louis called up to him, with a loud thump Francis dropped down behind them.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." he replied dismissively and faced the open doorway.

A stream of commons swarmed out of the doorway. Cursing under his breath Bill hollered:

"Incoming!"

And began blasting away at the infected emerging from the side of the building, hack, hack! hack! hack! hack! The uzi mowed down the infected as the veteran fired short controlled bursts into the horde. Francis's shotgun boomed as infected were blown off their feet (sometimes leaving them behind in the process.) Spent shells bounced off the ground, hollow gonks left in their wake.

Meanwhile Louis and Zoey had their hands full as hordes of infected spilled over the barracades, a familiar hooded infected lunged, shrieking out of the crowd.

"Mother! Hunter!"

Was all Zoey could scream before being pinned to the ground, with a grunt Louis cold conked the razor clawed infected with the butt of his shotgun before firing a hail of buckshot into the horde. "It's a bitch apocalypse now, bitch! Louis roared as he redoubled his hail of buckshot on the horde. Zoey staggered to her feet in a daze before glancing at Louis, the things coming out of this mild mannered IT analyst's mouth were astounding. Hack! hack! hack! hack! hack! hack! Zoey's uzi sprang to life mowing down any commons that ventured too close.

Eventually the stream became a trickle and then dried up altogether.

"Woah! That was close!" Francis panted.

"Yeah, this is so messed up." Zoey moaned, Bill had noticed a handgun lying next to the corner of a building. "An extra side-arm." he chuckled as he clicked the safety on and pocketed it, being an ex-soldier he knew trying to fire two pistols would be a lot less accurate than one. An arrow scrawled next to the doorway the commons had come out of indicated that there would be a saferoom along that route.

"I guess we go this way then." Louis ventured, everyone nodded.

"Right let's move it out."

The team ventured forth once again.

Read and Review please, this is my first published story so bear with me please.


	2. Chapter 2

This is a story chronicling the survivors' passage through Brooklyn, New York in Precinct 84, there is some swearing, special props go to Keldorn for an awesome campaign.

2

Thanks for the reviews, I did not intend for it to look the way it did, the site keeps messing up the appearance and I didn't and still don't know how to fix it.

The long, dark passage stretched out ahead of them, debris littered the floor along with torn up discarded clothing and other effects left behind. Weak sunlight filtered through some broken shutters, dispeling some of the gloom in the small room at the end of the passage, small dust motes drifted through the weak rays as the team drew to a halt.

"Okay people.." the aging veteran turned slowly, flicking a still smoldering butt to the floor before lighting yet another cigarette; "This is the plan, It seems we need to head that way.." He pointed down some dingy stairs. "I'll take point, Louis and Zoey you have the flanks, Francis you cover the rear, Got it?" "I hate the rear." Francis muttered to himself; "Okay Francis, so you want a hunter going ninja on us from behind?" Zoey looked pointedly at Francis who scowled and looked at his feet. "Come on biker dude, this is important." She playfully hit him on the shoulder. This seemed to get through to the difficult man; "Yeah, yeah I get it, I'm pretty awesome ain't I?" "Man she has a way with him doesn't she?" Bill nodded; "Okay people let's keep moving."

The rooms below were not as gloomy as the previous passage and stairs, in fact after passing through a rather dark recess they were well lit revealing old rusting appliances such as ovens and washing machines. The area seemed pretty empty.. well almost. Passing a non descript vent a hunter shrieked out, breaking the cover and tackling Zoey across the room, "Mother! Get him off me! Get him off me!" While Zoey freaked out Francis planted the butt of his shotgun in the hunter's face, yelping the hunter tried to jump off but not even bothering to fire his gun Francis simply grabbed the hunter by the throat and introduced its face to the wall. After being smashed against the wall three times the hunter went limp, collapsing on the floor. "Sweatshirt wearin little wuss." The biker walked over to Zoey; "You okay?" The pretty girl nodded as she got back in position.

It turned out that the adjoining room led onto a sewer, Zoey grimaced, Louis simply shrugged; "This.. Is not going to be sanitory" Cobwebs festooned the walls and passageways, trying not to disturb the webs the team sloshed their way through the stinking mess, something sloshed up ahead. The aging veteran raised his hand; "Hold up, quiet!" A familiar low, gurgling belch seemed to ooze out from somewhere up ahead. Bill peeked around the corner and spotted the boomer skulking in a shadowed corner up ahead. "Boomer." He mouthed and looked around the corner again. The bag of vomit had not noticed them, carefully Bill peeked around the corner again, lined up his sights and fired a short burst in its direction, the boomer exploded violently and a horrifying though rather muffled howl erupted from above.

The horde spilled down from the streets above, all intent on finding whatever had released the delicious scent, this would not go well for them. Gunshots rent the grimy air as infected after infected were cut down, unwittingly the infected had become fish in a barrel. Louis, Bill and Francis couldn't contain themselves as they burst out laughing, Zoey giggled and once things had calmed down it was time to move again. "Big John's Contractors" Zoey read the big, faded, red letters below the sewer manhole, Bill looked up at the brightly lit hole, the sun had strengthened, judging by it's intensity it was probably midday already. "Let's get up that ladder!" The old man climbed up slowly. Soon he was joined by Louis, Francis and Zoey who blinked in the bright sunlight.

Something had caught the old man's attention. Black, white, blue and red, only one type of car could have that type colouring. "Never a cop when you need one." Francis grumbled sourly before receiving a sharp elbow from Bill "Let's recon that vehicle." The police cars had been deserted under the railway flyover for the train observed earlier, "DUE TO THE RISK" a large solar powered LED screen displayed a cautionary message though due to the position of the sun and the flyover the message had been cut off. Kshhhhh! Krcklick! 104 in pro- Kshhhh! Zoey jumped, "The police! They're still alive!" Louis chirped happily, Bill found something on the seat and smiled "We're gonna be okay." He produced a map and stated: "Let's get to that saferoom."

Emerging from beneath the flyover they passed a laundromat, Bill waved his hand bringing everyone over to the door. "Cover me." he stated before creeping into the murky premises halfway in he gestured that the rest follow him and let out a triumphant yell. When the group had assembled the veteran revealed an M16 Assault Rifle. Looking down at the gun and then back at his friends he exclaimed; "It's an M16 Assault Rifle.." his eyes grew nostalgic and he chuckled; "Man this takes me back." Ever the antagonist Francis decided now was the time to stir a little; "What's your problem old man, you having a flashback or something?" The old man glared at him while Louis blew out some air in frustration.

Exiting the laundromat the group stopped and stared, eventually Zoey decided to say something: "All we need is a mortuary, some silver balls and a balding ice cream man with a shotgun." The group stared at her before she let out an exasperated sigh: "You've never seen Phantasm?" An ice cream van stood parked in front of a convenience store, an orange house had been spray painted next to the door. Francis grunted; "I hate ice cream vans." before firing a shot at the van. Bright music jingled through the air followed by an ominous howl. "Francis!" Bill roared before shouting; "Run! Into the saferoom, go! Go! Go!"

Four figures bolted into the convenience store, the horde had already begun climbing the fence behind them, spilling over into the parking lot, murder on their minds. The murky, gloomy store had only one light that had been left on and under that light an orange arrow had been sprayed onto the wall. A familiar red, beaten and worn door had been installed here. The electronic doors opened with a swish as infected streamed into the store with a loud clank Bill placed the iron bolt in position. Then let out a long breath; "Francis!" "Francis!" Zoey's eyes flashed. "Francis!" Louis did not look pleased. Faced by three pairs of angry eyes Francis looked at his shoes. "What the hell were you doing, Francis?" "S-s-sorry." Francis chuckled sheepishly.

Please don't hesitate to review.


	3. Chapter 3

This is a story chronicling the survivors' passage through Brooklyn, New York in Precinct 84, there is some swearing, special props go to Keldorn for an awesome campaign.

3

Thank you for the review SonofSublime.

The stark noon sun had given way to a beating, tiring afternoon sun. Light entering the saferoom through the solitary barred window cast stretched shadows against a lone television set perched on a box in the middle of the dreary room. A large image of the vomit bag referred to as a "boomer" had been scrawled some time ago on the dirty white wall with the message "Wanted dead or alive" written underneath in green. Graffiti covered most of the wall, most of it trying to convey messages to missing loved ones who may or may not still be alive. Something bumped a shelf over in the derelict shop on the other side of the the cold, worn, red steel door. Zoey listened to it and shivered; "There must be a horde in that shop by now."

"Hmmpf.." The aging veteran pored over the map which he had sprawled over the top of a crate and scratched his grizzled beard. Louis sat right beside him, attention fixed on the map too, Zoey always found this side of Louis interesting, when it was planning time Bill and Louis were an excellent team, both being strategists in their own right. The tatooed biker on the other hand seemed to have engrossed himself in trying to get a signal on the beaten television set in the middle of the room, and things didn't appear to be working.

"Three.. Two.. One.." Zoey counted watching Francis with an amused expression.

"Bah! I hate televisions" Francis announced fuming to no-one in particular and bashing the set on its worn side. Zoey giggled with glee, watching Francis always had its fun points.

"There are some bad men with big guns in the laundromat." This message scrawled just above a set of lockers housing a worn shotgun and uzi caught the ex-college student's attention; "Hey Bill, did you see this one?" The old man in question looked up for a second; "Yeah, I did, we'll check the laundromat across the street after we've finished planning." He stated jerking a slightly gnarled thumb in the direction of the window. Peering out, a large washed out sign read "Laundromat" on the ground floor of a building opposite their secured room. Looking over at the three men.. During the time she had been looking outside it appeared Francis had joined the other two.

"Okay people, gather up."

It appeared the old man was finally ready to deal with the situation at hand.

" According to this map we are currently in Brooklyn, New York. Now earlier we encountered some cop cars, correct?" The rest of the group nodded, Francis muttering something about "cops" under his breath.

"Now as you people remember we heard chatter over the radio, meaning that someone must still be alive. So I have decided we will head to the nearest police precinct which happens to be this one over here." Pointing at a marked location on the map the group read "84th Police Precinct" Zoey looked up;

"Bill, that's quite a few blocks away there may be no-one left by the time we get there." Francis and Louis nodded Looking at the old man.

"That is why we will press on this afternoon, if we head through these ghetto's over here, and make our way to the Emerald Tunnel Exit we should reach that location by early tomorrow morning." Bill layed out his plans gesturing to possible routes while the other members nodded, Louis adding his own input.

With a loud, screech of protest the saferoom door opened, revealing a delivery alley and a large white van, with a swift motion of his fingers Bill had the team moving out. A makeshift barracade of fencing blocked any access to the eastern section of the street. Abandoned trolleys, vans and trucks were strewn around the wide street here. A wind had picked up and it whistled through the spaces in the barracade. Cautiously crossing the deserted street the team approached the laundromat warily, upon crossing over the threshold something thumped in the room up ahead. the atmosphere inside felt incredibly heavy, an ominous feeling pressed down on the friends.

"I don't like this one damn bit." Francis muttered looking back at Bill, Zoey and Louis, the something in the back room let out a soft grunt causing the vet to use a jerk of his hand to motion everyone out of the laundromat.

"That was a tank wasn't it?" Zoey appeared quite shaken up.

"not sure kid, but we don't take unnecessary risks."

"Whatever it was it sure sounded big." Louis leaned against the wall.

"Okay people, let's get moving." Bill was already looking down the street and with that the team set out again.

The railway flyover loomed over them again as Francis peered around the corner noting a pawnshop on the adjacent corner, the biker noted something else too.

"Shit." Muttering to himself he faced the rest; "Street's crawling with vampires." Louis snorted; "They're not vampires man, they're zombies."

"Cut the horse shit you two." Bill did not like it when the infected interfered with his plans. Zoey strolled over and gestured to a nearby van; "Hey guys, would you look at this?" She seemed quite pleased with herself so of course the rest of the group walked with her to see what she had found. Two large white barrels greeted them, a large red diamond encircled a red image of a flame. "

"If someone strong.." the teen looked at Francis "Could kick this hard enough, we could roll it right into that horde and have a barbecue."

The teen giggled at her own joke, Louis nodded; "I think that's a great idea, right Bill?" The aged vet nodded and motioned to Francis; "Francis buddy, roll that barrel around the corner and i'll light 'em up." The burly biker chuckled evilly and hoisted the barrel to the corner, with a great kick the barrel began it's journey.

A white barrel rolled slowly up to the throng and came to rest against an infected's leg. The infected looked at the red image of flames uncomprehendingly. A shot rang out and with a loud explosion the barrel blossomed like a huge firey flower. The hungry flames were on the infected like a wildfire in tinder. Shrieking the infected ran blindly, bumping into the supports, the barracade and each other and as quickly as it had started it was over. A huge swathe had been cut through the throng and these were dispatched quickly as the team made their way across the street.

"There's a pawn shop on the corner let's go." Francis had been eager to get to the pawnshop blasting any infected that came near. The dingy shop didn't have much in it but upon closer inspection of the back room there was a welcome discovery.

"A road sweeper, everyone stand back I'm on crowd control!) Francis grabbed the tactical shotgun which had been abandoned in the back room. Looking in a locker Zoey had discovered a Ruger mini 14, your typical hunting rifle, glancing over the biker commented "Now that, is a sweet ass scope." Giggling Zoey looked over to Louis who had discovered another assault rifle;

"Geez, this is just like Counterstrike, how did they get a hold of one of this?" The IT manager was pretty surprised yet pleased at the same time.

After leaving the pawn shop the group noticed stairs leading up to the main line. looking at the stairs and considering the situation Bill decided; "Let's get up those stairs." climbing the stairs Zoey kept a watchful eye on some gaps gaping in the ceiling, but it was a false alarm. Reaching the platform a few staggering infected got dispatched before even realising they were not alone. A train had stopped right in front of the platform, the train rioted with colours where vandals had sprayed graffiti on all available spaces. Inside was as much of a riot of colour as the outside, something belched up ahead. the group froze.

"A boomer" Francis growled, Louis tightened his grip on his rifle. Zoey looked around; "But Where?" With a shake of his head the aged soldier stated;

"Nevermind, let's keep moving, eyes and ears people, eyes and ears." Progressing through the derelict train the boomer's gurgling belch kept the small group company, finally a door appeared up ahead, apparently the train had been seperated here and they would need to exit the cars. Dropping to the flyover the team could still here the loud belches yet could not find the boomer itself.

"Up there." Some boxes led up into the estranged front half of the train, this half had stacks of crates, perhaps an attempt to barracade the car. slowly progressing through the car the belches became more and more audible, Suddenly everything swam behind a green blur as a cascade of vomit poured through a ventilation hole in the ceiling.

"Ah shit. Son of a bitch!"

"Shit, shit, shit, shit!"

"Ewwww!"

"Aargh! It stinks!"

A howl echoed from outside, vibrating the windows, as hordes of infected began climbing the flyover. "Zoey!" The aged veteran shouted; "Watch the back! Louis! Francis guard the windows! I'll watch the ceiling, Stick together people!" Infected swarmed through the back entrance being met with a withering rain of fire as the hunting rifle tore through lines of infected, Simultaneously infected smashing through the windows and ventilation covers in the ceiling were met with a stream of bullets and buckshot. The rain of bullets opened holes in the ceiling and wall quickly bathing the survivors in dappled light. After the smoke cleared the only ones left were the survivors and the boomer, with a cock of his gun Francis fired a single shot into the ceiling followed by a loud pop as blood and entrails dripped over the remaining windows of the train.

"Son of a Bitch!" He shouted before heading to the front of the train. "Looks like Zoey shot the train conductor too" the biker remarked as Zoey entered the front compartment, he refused to let it go that Zoey had in fact shot the helicopter pilot earlier, much to the frustration of the teen in question;

"He was a zombie Francis! Zombie, zombie, zombie!" She complained much to his amusement. Bill clicked a button causing the train door to slide back before clattering to the ground. It appeared that a group had tried to hold off up here evidenced by the large pile of ammunition lying on a table, the rooftop here was pretty open apart from a large water tank and a billboard advertising trips to Allegheny forest in Pennsylvania. Some planks offered a temporary walkway across to the next building. There also appeared to be some propane canisters propped against the far wall.

As the team set foot on the sturdy planks a high pitched siren pierced the air and wailed from behind the buildings down the street, soon the sound was getting louder and louder as it eventually filled the air and something the survivors had not expected to see appeared at the opposite end of the street. Two police cars hurtled down the street, sirens blaring with a stream of infected hot on their tails, Louis covered his ears; "Damn that's loud!" He screamed as the cars passed directly under them. The cars screeched in a sharp turn and were gone around the corner. A howl tore through the air for the second time in an hour, those cars had riled up the infected in this sector. That however was not all that had been riled up. Something the survivors had forgotten about let out a long groaning roar as the sound of a wall smashing in the distance made its way to their ears.

The vietnam veteran sighed; "Oh this is going to get bad."

Please don't hesitate to read and review.


	4. Chapter 4

"Huh? What the hell is that? Grrrrrgh, it's unbearable. Someone, make it stop, I'm warning you. Grrrrrrgh! That's it! If no-one's going to kill that infernal racket then I'll do it myself! Whoever is responsible is going to have hell to pay!" As these thoughts made their way through the hulk's rotting brain, his ire rose faster and faster, fueled by an out of control adrenaline system his temper was very, very dangerous. When things irritated him, things got broken.. Permanently. Inhumanly powerful, muscled arms tensed as the creature slowly lifted itself onto its hands and feet, it snorted and looked around before smashing the wall behind it. "Pitiful wall, out of my way!" These thoughts floated irrationally through its brain and although it bellowed what its brain was thinking what escaped its mouth was a long, groaning roar.

The sound of a breaking wall and the long, groaning roar of a tank did not escape the ears of the survivors atop a rather barren rooftop. Zoey paled, the last tank they had faced had taken all of the ammunition they had had back on the rooftop of Mercy Hospital in Pennsylvania, it had been a miracle that that pilot had braved hovering the chopper next to the landing pad and had battled the stormy night to get them to safety. While Zoey had a slight mental breakdown Bill and Louis scanned the area in an attempt to muster up a strategy as the growls, grunts and whoops of the frenzied horde grew closer. Francis fired a hail of buckshot down the face of the building with a yell of triumph as infected plummetted back to the ground below. Louis mopped his shiny head as he looked around. His eyes fell upon a large rainwater tank which just happened to have a barrel of volatile liquid lying right next to it, the watertank was the only feature dominating the rooftop.

"Hey Bill, maybe we can bring that rainwater tank down on its head, wha' do you think?"

The aged man scratched his grizzled beard in thought;

"Yeah, might be a good idea. Zoey! Francis! Hold up in that room over there and keep those bastards off us, keep that propane canister handy too, I don't want to use more ammunition than necessary!"

With a curt nod the muscled biker set off for the vacant room, entering he noticed that this room, much to his delight was infected free. As Zoey covered the vandalised train, Francis trained his eyes on the edge of the rooftop firing at any infected trying to scramble over the edge, heavy footsteps pounded down below as a muscled behemoth closed in on a lone rainwater gutter. Surprisingly the gutter held under the weight of the beast as it purposefully rappeled its way up the building.

"Oh man, oh man, oh man."

Louis did not like the sounds he was hearing coming from the street side of the building, the ex-IT manager mopped his brow, wiping the perspiration from his eyes. Bill trained his sights on the location of the noise and waited. Time seemed to slow down as the hulk clambered into view, its diseased muscles rippling in the late afternoon sun, it bounded with a bellow towards the source of the biting stings ripping into its bulk.

"Louis! Move, now!"

The old man roared as the giant made a beeline for the pair, the two fled across the rooftop unleashing a literal storm of bullets into the tank. The behemoth seemed to shrug off the pain as it yelled at them and gave chase. In the meantime shots ripped through the air as the brunette teen and the biker tore apart the infected who had successfully gained the rooftop, Bill and Louis made for the rainwater tank, with the beast in pursuit. A loud pop signified a Boomer's grizzly death. The creature had just made it onto the roof with a horde of infected at its back, its explosive death sent its lackeys plummeting back to the streets below and to their imminent deaths.

"Zoey! Francis! Get ready!"

The two nodded at the old man's demand and climbed cautiously out of the window, the tank had taken to chasing its targets around the rainwater tank, errant rounds ricocheted off the sides of the structure as Bill and Louis continued to fire upon the wretched creature. With a hollow click the old man's gun ran dry.

"Damnit I'm out!"

Bill quickly broke off from the roundabout dash around the rainwater tank, the tank on the other hand appeared to have set its sights on Louis as it continued in hot pursuit. The old vet scoured the ammunition pile cursing as he searched for anything that would fit an M16.

"Bill! Now would be as good a time as any!"

Louis yelled this as the tank continued in its relentless pursuit, the old man gave a satisfied grunt as he grabbed a single clip of ammunition and jammed it into his gun, yelling;

"Now!"

With that confirmation Louis clambered swiftly into the structure below the rainwater tank, the beast pursuing him sensed victory and with a triumphant roar attempted to barrel through the structure. The metal supports creaked ominously as they began to buckle under the tank's vicious assault, with almost serpentine flexibility Louis snaked his way through the structure and bolted towards the old man. The tank looked at the two as if it wanted to ask an idiot question and a split second later a bullet pierced the skin of the barrel, sparking off the metal and igniting the contents within. The tank bellowed in agony as flames ate hungrily at its flesh, the supports groaned in protest buckling under the heat, damage and strain of the mammoth burden cradled above. The rainwater tank wobbled precariously, before collapsing upon the tank with a harsh crash.

Louis waved his gun in the air and hollered: "Oh Yeah! Who's your mama? Who's your papa?"

The old man simply snickered before regrouping with the others at the far edge of the building.

"Is it dead?"

Zoey seemed unsure about whether or not the creature had actually met its demise.

"Sure it is Zoey, you should have seen it get flattened back there, ker-rash!"

Louis used both hands to simulate the rainwater tank hitting the ground to the tatooed biker who chuckled evilly at the thought. That, was when the wreckage creaked ominously. The survivors turned slowly and eyed the twisted metal, with a roar of pure rage the battered creature forced its way out from under the remains of its steely prison.

"Run!"

At Bill's command the survivors bolted across the planks onto the adjacent rooftop, the tank seeming to sense their plan charged across the roof as it gave chase. The foul beast dislodged the planks with a loud clatter as it bounded across to the next rooftop. This was when Bill had an idea.

"Francis! Set the propane canister on that scaffolding over there, we'll get that son of a bitch when he tries to follow us! You got it?"

Huffing from the exertion of sprinting the biker managed a mock salute which brought a scowl to the face of the Vietnam vet.

"Everyone over the scaffolding! Go! Go! Go! Haul ass!"

The survivors fled across the scaffolding while Francis tied the propane canister onto the supports connecting the scaffolding to the wooden makeshift structure attached to a block of dilapidated apartments. The tank had just reached the semi-steel structure as the team scrambled up the only staircase accessable from their area. The tank had made it halfway across when a shot ripped out of Francis's shotgun. The propane canister exploded with so much force that the tank stumbled backwards before precipitating with a loud yell to the alley below. The scaffolding teetered before toppling over, collapsing on top of the unfortunate creature.

"Die you son of a bitch." The biker sneered before joining the others, making his way over to his friends Francis looked over his shoulder at the cloud of dust rising slowly from the now cluttered alley. "Now if that didn't kill it, what will?" He wondered to himself. The rest of the team had made their way onto a wooden platform connecting two blocks of dilapidated apartments, hastily attached barbwire festooned the rooftop above them while a banner hung limply from a nearby section proclaiming: 'NO HELP COMING! SHELTER HERE!' Bill called the team to a halt.

"Okay people, ammo check. Zoey, what's your situation?"

The pretty brunette dug in her pockets and checked her weapon before replying: "Bill, I have about five bullets in my rifle and a clip in my pocket so that's about twenty five in total." The old man sighed; "I'm at twen'y-nine, Louis, Francis?" The dark man looked up from his weapon and heaved a desolate sigh; "Fifteen man, that tank-" He left it at that. The biker cracked his neck and groaned; "Nineteen shells grandpa Bill." The vet ignored the remark and heaved his shoulders in a long drawn out sigh of his own. He motioned slowly with his weathered hand and drawled; "Right, let's keep moving."

As the survivors made their way along the wooden walkway a sense of lost hope seemed to cling to this desolate block, the doors had been bashed in, presumably by infected looking for an easy snack, apparently all attempts to barracade the entrance had been in vain. to the left of the doorway there appeared to be a small kitchenette. On the right a large pile of boxes had been wrapped in a large white sheet. Blood splatters and dust marred the tattered rag.

"Poor bastards tried to barracade themselves in here, all it must have took was one infected."

The aged man shook his head ruefully as he examined the remains of some survivors who had attempted to hold out with a frying pan and a baseball bat. Meanwhile Zoey and Francis had scouted the adjoining rooms in the hopes of finding any ammunition. Francis returned first; "Floors gone in the next room, we can get down over there." He gestured vaguely towards a darkened doorway.

"Guys, I found some Ibuprofen in the bathroom, anyone need?"

Zoey had returned from scouting with a small plastic bottle of pain relievers in hand. Francis smirked; "Give 'em to Louis, he could use 'em."

Zoey giggled and motioned Louis over.

"Hey Louis, I got a present for you."

Waving the plastic bottle in front of the dark man his eyes lit up as he eyed the bottle hungrily. Tossing the bottle to her friend he managed to grab the bottle and make it disappear in one fluid motion, it looked like a magician's trick.

"Oh man, Pills!"

The brunette teen tittered, the way he said pills literally sounded like he had added a "z" for emphasis.

"You really should lay off them Louis."

"Ur-hm-hm-hm!"

Clearing his throat loudly The old man gestured toward the drab doorway;

"Okay people, times wasting and I ain't getting any younger, let's move it out."

Dropping through the throat like hole, the next room appeared to be in similar disrepair. A small ladder broken beyond use lay twisted on the grubby floor, the staccato dripping of a tap elsewhere in the apartment marked the passage of time. A small room off to the side contained a large, dusty pile of old boxes. Moving cautiously through the dingy apartment it appeared the area was utterly deserted. Reaching a small galley kitchen, dust motes drifted lazily in the filtered, afternoon sun. Dead ahead a doorway, the door torn off its hinges gave way onto the collapsed scaffolding from before.

Peering gingerly around the corner, the aged vet motioned the all clear as the group filed out onto another weathered, wooden platform. Something snarled in a room up ahead.

"Guys, hunter. Can you hear it?"

The three men nodded grimly before taking up positions on either side of the door. Slowly turning the handle a blur of black, claws and teeth screamed through the fragile door, however the hunter had miscalculated its leap and crashed through a febrile wooden railing plunging past and smashing into the wall of an adjacent building. With a splintery crack the doomed hunter let out a soft yip before continuing it's journey to the waiting alley floor.

The strapping biker's booming belly laugh filled the air, the team cracking up over the unfortunate hunter.

" Ha, ha, ha! Frikkin wuss!"

An thus, Spirits lifted the team entered an otherwise non-descript apartment. What lay ahead down below? Would they make it to the 84th Precinct ? FInd out next time in: "The Road to Precinct 84."

Phew, it has been a while since I updated this one hasn't it? Blame that on hard work, my interest in Kenkou's Monstergirls, An old New World and gaming.

I always enjoy writing these chapters, but especially enjoyed writing this one. The four are well on their way, but will they make it?


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